


Firecracker

by FionaMorrigan



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-10 15:25:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4397159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FionaMorrigan/pseuds/FionaMorrigan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You were born blind with abilities similar to Matt Murdock's. When you are arrested for being at the scene of a mugging gone wrong, Matt and Foggy are tipped by a mutual contact to go down to the station to offer their services as your lawyers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This a story I've been working on for a bit, inspired by the future Netflix Defender's series and what I know about the comics. Please let me know what you think! Enjoy!

The room around you is bare, except for a table and three chairs, one of which you refuse to sit in. You stand next to the door, listening for anything, but all you could hear are steady heartbeats behind the weird-looking wall.

“Are you watching me?” You whisper, moving around the table to stand in front of the weird wall. You touch it and it was smooth and cold. A mirror.

You can hear the heartbeats spike and chairs shuffle back.

“Are you scared of me?” You whisper again.

The door opens behind you and two, no, three heartbeats join you.

“Ma’am, these men claim to be your lawyers.” You can tell he was the officer, his scent was familiar.

You look them over and sniff the air a little. One wears a strong cologne you don’t like and the other smells of silk and laundry soap.

“Yeah. These are my lawyers.”

They sit in the two chairs and start looking over your case file. You can smell the fresh printer ink and the hot paper.

“Who are you?” You ask, slowly approaching the table.

“I’m Matt Murdock and this is my associate, Franklin Nelson.” The Silk-And-Soap guy gestures to the Cologne Man.

“What do you want?”

“We’re your lawyers. We’re here to make sure justice is served.”

“I didn’t call you.”

“We know.” Cologne Man, Franklin, smiles.

“Why are you here?”

“We got a call on your behalf, Ms.” Silk Guy looks over my file, his fingers dragging across the page. “Y/N?”

“Okay.”

“Would you care to sit?” Franklin stands and pulls out the extra chair across the table from them.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t trust you yet. Sitting puts me in a vulnerable position and I don’t like being vulnerable.”

“Ms. Y/L/N, what do you hear right now?” Matt asks.

“How is this relevant, Matt?”

“Just hang on a second.”

“There are three people in the room behind the mirror, the desk clerk just had 2 cups of coffee, and three junkies are in the cell block tonight. Oh, and there's 6, no, 7 K9 units in right now.” You stop before explaining. “Dog hearts are quite distinctive.”

“And what do you smell?”

“Matt, you wash your silk shirts in detergent, which is bad for them, so don't do that anymore. Franklin, you’ve been sleeping over at your girlfriend’s house and you don’t want anyone to know that you used her strawberry conditioner.”

“What do you taste?”

“Okay, this is getting weird, Matt.”

“Give her a minute, Foggy.”

“I taste copper. But, old copper. You cut yourself, Matt, or got yourself cut badly, right here.” You touch your forehead right above your eyebrow. “There’s mildew under the floorboards and the chief is allergic. Sorry, I can hear his raspy breath from here, I guess that doesn't count as smelling. And there are lead pipes, so I wouldn’t drink the water.”

“And what do you see?”

“How do you mean?”

“With your eyes. What do you see?”

“I don’t see with my eyes, you idiot. I was born blind.”

“Holy crap, she’s just like you, Matt.”

“This is why he called.”

“Who called?”

“Why don’t you sit and tell us what happened, Y/N.”

So you do. You sit in the chair pulled out for you and fold your hands on the cold metal table.

“I was on the roof of my apartment building and I heard something a few blocks over, like a mugging gone wrong. There’s shouting, a gunshot, a girl screams, so I do what anyone would do.”

“You called the police, right?” Franklin stops taking notes for a second.

“No. I climbed down the fire escape and followed the screaming. They were at the opposite end of the alley and I ran towards them, asking if they needed help. Of course the chick runs. Seeing someone running towards you wearing a hoodie is a sure sign of trouble.” You laugh before continuing. “So, she ditches this guy in the gutter and I’m left with calling the police, an ambulance. And, by some twisted turn of fate, just because I'm soaked in this guy’s blood from saving his life and happen to be carrying my handgun, which I have a permit for, it apparently adds up to me having done it.”

“And what did you say to the arresting officer?”

“Nothing. I’m not an idiot.”

“Did you tell them you were blind?”

“No, she did not. Time’s up, boys.”

“That was not 15 minutes.” Franklin’s heartbeat spikes as he stands to confront the officer, but Matt’s remains steady.

“What are her charges?” Matt stands, gathering his papers.

“We haven’t found the girl yet. But the guy just got out of surgery, and they say he’ll be okay.”

“If no charges are pressed by tomorrow, I want you to send her over to our office.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Murdock, sir.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow, Y/N.”

“Yeah, sure.” You stand and hold out your hands for cuffs. The metal scratches you harder than the crappy cotton shirt they gave you after taking your clothes into evidence.

“She’s, like, 130 pounds. Who is she gonna hurt?” Franklin asks in disbelief.

“They think I shot a guy, Frank.”

As he takes you out to the holding area, the officer leans in close enough that you can smell what he had for breakfast 2 days ago. Fruity Pebbles and toast.

“When were you gonna tell us you were blind?”

“Does it matter?”

“It makes some of your story a little… unreal is all.”

“Sorry I didn’t make it obvious, officer.” He shoves you into the cell and practically rips off the cuffs. “You got any kids?”

“No, why?”

“Cause a grown man shouldn’t eat Fruity Pebbles for breakfast.”

He slams the cell door shut and you feel around for a second for the bed. You sit on it with your back against the wall and cross your legs like you’re about to meditate. Then, you open your ears and listen.

Phone conversations, arguments, police sirens, dogs barking, cats meowing, babies waking up crying, rain dripping from the eaves all fill your ears, before you bring your focus the the precinct around you.

“Hey, you, Mara!” The desk sergeant calls.

“Yeah!” Your arresting officer walks to the desk, resting his fresh mug of coffee on the desk.

“That woman you’ve been looking for just turned up.”

“Where?”

“The hospital your shooting vic is at. Said a man in a red mask told her to go there.”

“That Daredevil twerp? How long she been there?”

“Over half hour, right before those lawyers showed up for your perp.”

“Alright, tell ‘em to bring ‘er in for an interview.” He picks up his coffee and sips it, his heart skipping a beat. _Fruity Pebbles have not been treating you well, my friend,_ you think, smiling.

Your focus turns to just outside the precinct, where Matt and Franklin discuss your case as they walk down the sidewalk.

“If she’s just like you, Matt, we need to get her out of there.”

“They found the girl, Foggy. If her story doesn’t match up with Y/N’s, there’s no getting her out.”

“Well, what did that Stick guy say?”

 _Stick?_ You sit up a little.

“He said she needs more training, but she’s perfect for us.”

“You’re going to have to talk to Jonesy first, you know. Firecracker like that is bound to cause trouble.”

“Jones’ll come around. She has to.”

“First things first. We have to make sure that woman’s story corroborates Y/N’s.”

“It will.”

“What, did you tell her what to say?”

“I told her to tell her the truth.”

Whoa, what?

“I guess the mask thing could probably be intimidating enough to scare the girl into telling the truth.”

The mask? Is Matt-? Oh my god.

“Alright. You’d better go, Marci will be wondering where you’ve gone.”

“Marci? Nah, she won’t care. Karen might.”

“Karen? Really?”

“What?”

“No, good for you, man.” You could hear the smile in Matt’s voice. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah. Don’t go off doing something stupid now, you hear.”

“I got it, I got it.”

You cut out any sound except for your own heartbeat, as quick as the junkie in the next cell over.

_Matt Murdock is Daredevil. And Stick knows him._

The cell door slides open, and another officer, a different one, steps in.

“Hey, get up.”

“What?”

“We need you for a line up.”

The bright lights buzz in your ears as the guys next to you groan and hiss at the sudden light.

“Now remember, they can’t see or hear you. Just point out the one you think shot your fiancee.”

I can hear you. You smile a little, smelling the nervous sweat on her palms.

“Well, none of them shot him.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I am sure. But that girl, the one in the police shirt, she’s the one who ran up to me. Bertie said she was the one who saved him.”

“And you’re certain she didn’t shoot him?”

You scoff a little, but play it off like you were clearing your throat.

“No. A nervous guy shot him. Not a girl.”

The intercom clicks on. “Number 3 can you please step forward.”

You step forward.

“She’s the one, I know it. She saved my Bertie.”

“Alright.” Intercom on again. “Number 3 step back. Take ‘em back to their cells.”

“That’s it?” I ask, passing the officer who escorted us in.

“What, did you expect a prize?”

“No, sir, officer. Just don’t see why it couldn’t wait until morning.”

“That’s just how it works, ma’am. Move along.”

The next morning, you are dragged into another interrogation room,  barely anything in your stomach and your clothes really starting to annoy you. You don’t smell the silk detergent or the strong cologne, but Fruity Pebbles is there and stronger than ever.

“Where are my lawyers?” You ignore an invitation to sit.

“We just need a statement from you.”

“Not without my lawyers, you don’t. I don’t want you twisting my words.” You spit out, leaning against the mirror.

“They’re on their way.” His heartbeat skips a little. A lie.

“No they’re not.”

“I called them myself.”

“No, you didn’t, stop lying.”

“I could arrest you for contempt.”

“And I’ll tell them you lied about calling my lawyers.”

“You wanna call them yourself?”

“Yeah, I do. Gimme a phone and their number.”

The phone clatters on the table and Fruity Pebbles writes angrily on a piece of paper. You listen carefully for the numbers he writes, but they get jumbled.

“I can’t see, Officer. You’re going to have to do it for me.”

He hands you the receiver and jams in the number, nearly breaking the keys.

“Nelson and Murdock, Attorneys at Law, how may I direct your call?”

“Hi, it’s Y/N. I need to speak to Matt or Frank? The arresting officer wants my statement.”

“I’ll let them know right away.”

“Thank you. And you must be Karen, right?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“They mentioned it, in case I ended up calling.”

“Oh. Well, I’ll tell them they’re needed down at the precinct.”

“Thanks, Karen.”

“No problem.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

She hangs up and you sigh and hang up the receiver.

“They’ll be here soon.”

“I’m sure.”

You go back the mirror and listen to the low chatter inside. About 10 minutes later, the cologne smell hits you.

“Strawberry conditioner again, Frank?”

“That’s creepy.” Franklin pulls out the chairs for everyone and sits at one end of the table.

“There’s no shame in it. Officer Mara eats Fruity Pebbles for breakfast.”

“Fruity Pebbles are delicious.” Franklin agrees, opening his briefcase and pulling out your case file.

“So, your statement, Ms. Y/N, is that what they’re asking for?” Matt sits and you sit in the chair next to him.

“Yeah.”

“Honestly, I wanna know how our little Miss Y/N is able to hear a screaming woman from four blocks away.” Officer Mara sits across from us and turns on the recording device.

“Well, it all started when I was born. I was born blind, and didn’t have much else going for me-”

“Cut the crap. How are you able to hear a gunshot and woman scream from four blocks away.”

“I don’t know, officer, I just did. And maybe my mother smoked while I was in the womb, or maybe I was bitten by a radioactive bat. What I do know is that had I not heard, ‘Bertie’” You throw in some quotation marks. “Would be dead.”

“How did you know his name was Bertie?”

“Because I heard you two yammering behind the glass last night. And I know that The Daredevil told her to go to the hospital and wait for you schmucks. And I know that Franklin’s nickname is Foggy. And I know that you have heart palpitations that will result in a heart attack in about 3 to 5 days. You should really go see your doctor and lay off the Fruity Pebbles.”

“Y/N, I’d advise you to calm down and focus on the task at hand.” Matt says quietly enough for only you to hear.

“What was that?”

“My lawyer giving me,” You take a deep breath, “some accurate advice.”

“So, that statement you wanted from our client, is that still on the table?” Matt leans forward and I can hear him smiling.

“Yeah. Just recount what happened, Ms. Y/L/N.”

“I was on the roof of my apartment building on 45th and heard an altercation, a mugging if you will. There was a gunshot and a female scream, and the mugger ran. I go down the fire escape as fast as I can and run towards the sounds. I end up on the opposite end of the alley, wearing a hoodie and black pants, seemingly more intimidating than I really am. I run towards her, asking if she needs help and she panics, running off. So I call the cops and an ambulance and try my best to stop this guy from bleeding out on the sidewalk. Then you show up, Officer Mara, and immediately put me under arrest without so much as a ‘How do you do’.”

“What you swear that this statement is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

“I do.”

“Sign here please.” He grabs your hand, shoves a pen in it and puts it on the paper. You do your best to scrawl out your name but you joke that you never learned to write. Which was a small lie since your mother insisted you learn.

“You’re free to go, Ms Y/L/N.” Officer Mara stands, picking up the papers. “We’ll be sending you court date once we catch the perp, if you wish to testify.”

“If my testimony will do any good, I will.”

“Remember to pick up your things at the desk.”

“Thanks. Remember to see your doctor about those palpitations.”

“I’m sure.”

Franklin lead you by your elbow to the desk to get the things they’ll allow you, Matt trailing close behind.

“So, are you taking me back to my place?” You ask as you three step out onto the sidewalk.

“No. Karen brought some of your clothes to the office and we’re going there.” Matt links his arm with yours. “We have something to discuss.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Me? A superhero?” You ask, finishing off the bitter coffee and wiggling a little in your soft clothes.

“Not a super hero, per say, like the members of the Avengers. Rather, someone who defends the weak and powerless here in New York.” Jessica Jones explains.

“So, what are you calling yourselves?”

“We hadn’t decided on a name.”

“Whatever the newspaper’s call you the, eh?” You smile. “Just like Matt over here.”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

“So, you’re gathering extraordinary ordinary people?”

“Yes. People with special abilities that would prove helpful to our cause.”

“Do I have to do the horn thing?”

“Horn thing?” Matt sits up in his chair.

“Like Daredevil. Since we have basically have the same powers?”

“No,” Jessica assures. “You can take on your own persona, if you wish.”

“Who else is in this ‘Defenders of New York’ business?”

“We have a fellow named Luke Cage.”

“That’s it? A retired superhero, a blind guy and a kid named Luke Cage.”

“And you, if you’ll join us.”

“Stick was right to call you, Matt. I am perfect for you guys.”

“Stick called you?”

“How else do you think we found her?”

“Stick trained me for a few years, then dropped me here with a couple thousand dollars, an apartment, and a job. Told me he’d let me know when I was needed again. I guess this is what he meant.”

“How long did he train you?”

“He picked me up when I was 10, basically bought me from my parents. I think I was about 19 when he finally told me I had trained enough. He let me visit my parents about every 6 months, at Christmas and my birthday. And he let me write letters to them every month.”

“And how old are you now?” You hear Matt’s hand tighten around the handle of his coffee mug, the ceramic crackling.

“22. Matt, put down the mug before you break it and scald yourself.”

“Sorry.” He puts the mug on his desk with a soft tap.

“There’s no need to be jealous, Matt. He talked about you all the time. Never mentioned you by name, but he said you were fastest learner he’s ever had, the most aggressive.” You assure him. “Said you could’ve been great. He had me read the newspaper clipping about you as a kid and I told him you already were.”

“This Stick guy trained you?” Jessica turns to Matt, her expensive suit jacket brushing against her pants.

“Yeah. For about a year. When I was 9.”

“Well, it’s comforting to know he picks up the kids around the same age.”

You stand and leave the room to refill your coffee. Jessica Jones tries her best to speak quietly to Matt. He reminds her you can hear her anyway.

“We don’t know what she’s capable of.”

“I think I can be a good judge of that.”

“How? You didn’t complete your training.”

“Then I can just find out, Jessica. She small and fast, probably quite strong and definitely smart. We need her.”

“Luke Cage is all those things, excepting the small part.”

“And Luke Cage is noticeable. Had I seen Y/N in a crowd, I wouldn’t be able to pick her out from a line up.”

“Sounds like they’re talking about you.” Franklin comes up next to you at the counter, filling his coffee as well.

“They are.”

“What about?” Karen pipes up, stopping her typing.

“Jessica isn’t sure about me. Thinks I’m too unpredictable. Matt’s hopeful.”

“Of course he is. Finally found someone exactly like him? I’d be hopeful too.” Franklin sips at his coffee and hisses when it burns his lip.

“Oh, yeah. That’s hot.” You joke, taking a big gulp of your own. “Better go back in there and face the lions.”

“Let’s hope they aren’t hungry.”

You open the door to Matt’s office and are once again accosted by the scent of detergent-washed silk.

“Jesus, do you both wash your silks at home?”

“No?” Jessica answers, curiosity in her voice.

“You’d best get a better dry cleaner then.” You sit before asking, “What’s the verdict?”

“I’ll observe you for a few nights, see how you fight, how you act, how you… are, I guess.” Matt says.

“And, I’ll be running a background check on you. Just to see if anything in your past might affect your future with us.” Jessica explains.

“What, like my mother dying of cancer or something?”

“We’re thinking more… criminal instances.”

“I haven’t gone to jail or prison for anything, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“And arrested for anything?”

“Plenty of times. Either the charges dropped, or weren't pressed in the first place.”

“Well, that’s comforting.”

“Hey, whatever I've been arrested for hasn't been my fault, okay, Ms. Jones? They’ll pick you up for just about anything in this town.”

“Anyway,” Matt leans forward, breaking up any potential fight. “Ms. Jones will take care of any former criminal activity. Y/N, you and I have some other things to attend to.”

“I haven’t even said yes yet.” You point out, taking another sip of coffee.

“Are you planning on saying no?” Jessica sits forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

You sit back, pretending to mull it over. “Yeah, alright. But,” you stop. “I get to design my own outfit.”

“I think we can work something out.” Jessica stands with a sigh. “Let me know what you two kids come up with and I’ll see about covering the expense.”

You stand, smiling. “Expense will be no object, Ms. Jones. That few thousand Stick left me has turned over a pretty penny in the stocks.” You hold out your hand and she takes it, shaking firmly before dropping it.

“Welcome to the ‘Defenders of New York,’ as you call it, Ms. Y/L/N.”

 

****

 

“Again.”

“Holy shit, Matt, we’ve been going for two hours.”

“And you will keep going until I say. Again.”

You stand ready, your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, fists up. You wait, slowing your breath and heart to hear his. Directly behind you, he lunges, but you’re faster than he is. You duck, forcing him to grasp at empty air, turn on the balls of your feet and nail him in the stomach. As he bends over in pain, you grab his shoulders and knee him in the chest. He collapses to the floor out of breath. You put one knee on the back of his neck and one on the small of his back, twisting his arm up behind him. You hold him there until his other arm smacks the mat.

“Okay,” He stands, gasping for breath. “I think you’re done for today.”

“Thought so.” You snap, grabbing your towel and wiping the sweat from your brow. A heavy step trods from the doorway of the gym, flipping on the lights.

“So, this is the firecracker.” A deep voice greets and washes over you.

“Yeah, that’s me. What’s it to you?”

“Name’s Luke Cage. Jessica thinks I should meet you.”

“Bound to happen eventually.” You hold out your hand and his swallows yours up. “Name’s Y/N.”

“Well, Y/N. You seem like a tough cookie, takin’ Devil over here out like that.” He shakes your hand. “Strong too, I can tell.”

“Thanks. Takes a bit of strength to take down someone one and a half times your weight and twice your size. Not that you have a problem with that, I’m sure.”

“I tried to take down Matt, but he’s wily.” Luke drops your hand, laughing. “Got the drop on me more than once. But, I hear tell you’ve got the same powers.”

“You hear right. Same teacher, too.”

“What’re the odds?”

“Slim.” Matt interrupts. “But not improbable.”

“But, hey, at least you’ve got someone to talk to about this stuff, right, Matty?”

“Yeah, you’re right, Luke. And I told you to not call me Matty.”

“Sorry, man. Meant nothing by it.”

“From the south, Luke?” You ask.

“My mom is. Louisiana.”

“My grandad’s from the same place.”

“Whereabouts?”

“Orleans.”

“Mama’s from Baton Rouge.”

“I hear it’s nice.”

“Can be. Anyway, when are you two gonna be back here for training? Jessica wants me to test out our little firecracker.”

“I don’t know-” Matt starts, concern in his voice.

“I think I could take you on. How’s Saturday work for you?”

“Fine by me. Got your suit ready yet?”

“We’re going by Matt’s guy tomorrow. Had Karen make up a few sketches. Not that I can really see them all that well. May have to change them, though.”

“Why’s that?” Matt asks. “We’re just getting body armor.”

“Yeah, but I gotta have a thing right?”

“A thing?”

“Yeah! Like, you’ve got the devil thing." You gesture over to the hulking figure beside you. "Luke over here’s got the macho strength deal. Jessica’s got the uppity private detective. I like the name Firecracker. Sounds… Dangerous.”

“Firecracker?”

“Yeah! Doesn't that sound like a cool superhero name? Power Man, back me up.”

“That sounds… fanciful at best.” Matt raises an eyebrow.

“Ah, c’mon, Matt, where’s your sense of adventure?”

“I think he lost it as soon as he became a lawyer.” Luke jokes.

“I would too, what with all that paperwork, all that reading, all the hours building a case. On top of the whole being Daredevil thing, doesn’t leave much time for fun.” You tease, poking his arm.

“We’ll decide on a persona for you once I’ve seen you out in the field, Y/N.” Matt shoves your gym bag into your arms. “Until then, you’ll have to just go nameless.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt takes you out for a night of crime fighting to test your skills. When the night proves to be uneventful, you take notice of something odd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little warning ahead of time, there is some gore and mentions of violence in this chapter. Please send me a message if this makes you uncomfortable and I can send you an edited version of this chapter. Thank you for reading and thank you to those who left kudos!

“ _Night_ ,” You whisper. “1 am. The streets of Hell’s Kitchen are as filthy as they are empty.”

“What?” Matt turns to you and you can tell he’s looking at you with disdain.

“Nothing. Just narrating. Cause there’s nothing to do.” You listen again and hear a bag of trash crash into a dumpster. The kid who dumped it ran back into the restaurant.

You sigh and sit on the ledge where you and Matt perched, your feet dangling over the side.

“What are you doing?”

“Succumbing to boredom. You somehow managed to pick the worst possible night to test my skills in the field.” Your ear pricks at the sound of another trash bag dumped at the same dumpster. You hear the kid sniffle and wipe something off his face. “Hey, Matt?”

“Yeah?”

“Is it weird to send your kid out of the restaurant to dump trash twice in the last two minutes?”

“A little.”

“Wanna check it out?”

“Sure, since there’s nothing better to do.”

You and Matt make your way over to the restaurant, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, climbing down the fire escape of the opposite building as the kid emerged with a third bag. He saw you two, Matt in red and you in black, and dropped it, throwing his hands in the air. The bag made a squelching noise as it hit the pavement.

"What's in the bag?" You ask right away.

The kid shakes his head, trembling.

"Okay, what's your name?" Matt asks.

His little heart flutters at a mile a minute as he stutters out, "B-b-b-burhan?"

"Burhan, we aren't here to hurt you, we just would like to know what's in the bag." You kneel in front of the poor kid and take the mask off your face, leaving it resting on your head.

"O-o-ok-k-kay."

"Can you bring it to me?"

He nods, gripping the bag again and bringing it slowly over to you. "There w-w-w-was a fight, i-i-it was an accident, h-h-h-he d-d-d-didn't mean it." He rests the bag at your feet and darts back to the stoop.

You open the bag carefully, smelling blood. You look up at Matt, who nods solemnly, before opening the bag all the way. You fold over the opening and tip it towards the light, trying to make out what's inside. From what you can gather, an arm with a shiny band on its ring finger, part of a head and a few organs rested inside. You close up the bag as fast as you can and tie it off.

"Who is this?" You ask, looking up at Burhan.

"M-m-m-my m-mm-mommy." He stammers, tears welling up in his eyes. "He didn't mean it, honest, he didn't."

"Who didn't mean it?" Matt kneels next to you, his eyes on the trembling Burhan.

"My dad. They were fighting and he kind of sh-ssh-shoved her. S-s-s-she h-h-h-h-hit her head on the counter and s-s-s-st-started b-b-b-b-bleeding e-e-ev-v-verywhere."

"Burhan, is there someone you can go to? A friend or a neighbor?"

He shakes his head. "Dad won't let me leave."

"Have you called the police?" You ask.

He shakes his head again.

" _Burhan!_ Where are you, _aptal çocuk_!" A voice shouts from inside with a thick Turkish accent. Burhan's father, no doubt.

"Burhan, has he hurt you?" Matt asks.

He nods slowly, tears falling from his eyes.

"Do you want to get away from him?"

"I cannot tell you that, he will hear."

" _Burhan!_ "

"You never have to see him again."

Burhan was silent for a long time before whispering, "Okay."

"Stay here with Y/N. I'll take care of him."

Burhan ran to you, throwing his arms around your neck. You gather him in your arms and stand up, holding him close. You realize that he couldn't be more than seven years old. Your chest tightens at the thought. Seven years old and forced to help your father dismember your mother. How fucked up it that?

"Is there someone you can go to, Burhan?"

He nods into shoulder. "Ms. Antonia. She helps me wash dishes."

"Where does she live?"

"In this apartment building. On the third floor. Number 304."

"Okay. I'm going to put you down, is that okay?"

Burhan nods again and you set him on his feet on the pavement. You pull down your mask and reach out for his hand. He takes yours and you walk to the front door of the apartment complex.

"Before we go upstairs you have to promise to write down everything you remember. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah."

"And you can't tell Ms. Antonia my real name, okay? That has to be our little secret."

"Okay."

You have Burhan dial 304 on the keypad, opening the door when the buzzer rings. He leads you upstairs and knocks on her door with his tiny fist. You hear "Seize the Day" from Newsies playing before she pauses the DVD and comes to the door.

"Burhan! Who's your friend?" She looks you over, her heartbeat rising as she reaches for the little boy.

"She's friends with Daredevil, Ms. Antonia. She's a superhero, just like Captain America!"

"I'm sure she is. Go sit on the couch."

"Okay!" He runs into her apartment and bounds onto the couch.

"Can I help you with anything else?" Antonia closes the door so you would have to push past her to get inside.

"He saw his mother murdered and was forced to help his father dismember her."

"Oh my god!" She gasps, covering her mouth with her hand.

"My partner is currently taking care of the situation. May I borrow your phone?"

"Yeah, it's in the kitchen." She steps aside and lets you in.

"Also, I need you to ask him to write down what he saw so he doesn't forget."

"Yeah, of course. Let me grab a paper and pen."

"Thanks." You stride into the kitchen, finding the phone a dialing 911.

"911 dispatch, what is your emergency?"

"Hey, uhm, hi?" You put on your best concerned citizen voice. "I think there's been an attack at West 43rd and 10th? At the Turkish restaurant right on the corner? I heard what sounded like shouting and a crash. I think I saw a small boy run into the apartment building next door."

"Alright, ma'am, stay where you are, I am dispatching an officer right now."

"Thank you so much."

"Can you stay on the line?"

"No, I can't, I have to go work. But please hurry. I'd hate to think that little boy might be in danger."

"An officer is en route right now, ma'am. Thank you for your call."

You hang the phone back on the wall, listening to Burhan recounting the story to Antonia.

You step back out into the living room and say, "I have to go. When the officer calls for backup or a forensic team, take Burhan downstairs."

"How will I know?"

"Wait for more sirens or vans."

"Okay. Thank you."

"That's what I'm here for."

She smiles. "Burhan, what do you say to the nice lady?"

"Thank you, Miss."

"I'll see you soon, Burhan." You smile and ruffle his hair with your gloved hand, heading out the door. You take the stairs two at a time and run in through the side door of the restaurant. Matt has successfully terrified the man into turning himself in.

"Good job making him not look like the victim, there, Daredevil." You eye his broken, bleeding nose.

"Sorry. He needed a little... convincing."

"Well, he seems convinced. Burhan is safe at the neighbor's house, and the police are on their way. Which means we have to go."

"Get to the roof. I'll be there in a minute."

"What else can you do to him? He's already terrified."

"You're right." You both turn to the sound of sirens coming up the street. "Let's go."

You climb onto the roof and make your way back to your place, since it's closer than Matt's. Clambering down the fire escape and in through the window, you both decide that you fought enough crime for one night.

"You did well." Matt says as you pull your masks off and you head to the fridge to grab a beer. You offer one to Matt and he accepts it gratefully.

"Thanks. I'm not usually all that great with kids, but I knew he needed my help."

"Why did you tell him you'd see him again?"

"Because I will. I'll be there for him when during the investigation. And I'll be damned if I'm not there for him when his father goes to court."

"He has Miss Antonia for that."

"He's only seven, Matt. Sometimes you need a superhero to help you through this kind of stuff. "

Matt takes a swig of the beer, lost in thought. "Can you promise you won't get attached?"

"I'm not going to adopt him if that's what you're asking."

"After this case is over, you aren't going to see him again?"

"Only if he's involved in some kind of crime we're fighting."

"Good. I know it's hard not to want to care for the kids, but he'll be in good hands once this is over with."

You take a sip of beer and toss your mask on the counter. "Is Nelson and Murdock going to prosecute this case?"

"If we're called upon, I'm sure we will. We prefer defense, but I'm sure prosecution will be easy enough." He smiles at his own little joke that you don't understand.

You finish your beers in silence, no more to say to one another. You promise Matt that you'll get some rest and see him out the window. After stripping out of your body armor, you fall asleep to the sounds of Hell's Kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, you awake to someone pounding on your door.

“Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!” Foggy calls as you stumble out of bed, wrapping your robe around you.

“I hate you so much.” You grumble as you open the door and shuffle to the kitchen to make coffee.

“Don’t worry about making coffee, Y/N!” Karen holds up an unmarked bag. “Foggy and I brought some for you.”

“Did Matt send you to torture me?” You accept a burning hot cup of joe and flop into a chair at your dining room table.

“Well, yes to Matt sending us and no to the torture.” Foggy jokes, sitting across from you and unpacking the bagels from the other bag. You stopped yourself from snatching one out of his hand.

"How is it you two are so chipper? What time is it?" You ask, sipping at the cup of plain, bitter coffee.

"It's about 8! Perfect time to get up!" Karen chirps.

You hiss a little under your breath, cursing their cheerfulness.

"What's on the docket today?" You put down the coffee and pick up a bagel, biting into the soft, fluffy bread.

"Well, Mahoney called us about a murder suspect. Admitted to killing and dismembering his wife, and forcing his kid to help."

"Ugh, that's awful. Could you imagine?" Karen sips her coffee, a look of disgust on her face.

"Pretty terrible. Did they say why he admitted to it?" You inquire.

"He claims the Devil appeared to him."

"The Devil?" You snort.

"He also said there was a woman with him, a demon or angel, he couldn't be sure."

"I didn't know the Daredevil had a partner." Karen muses. It became obvious to you that she had no idea that Matt _is_ the Daredevil.

"Maybe, maybe not." You stand and take another sip of coffee. "I'm going to shower and get ready for work."

"Oh, right. You have a job. What do you do?" Foggy remembers.

"I'm a secretary."

"Where?"

"Well, it might make hanging out with you guys a little complicated."

"You don't."

"I do."

"I can't believe it."

"What? Where does she work?" Karen asks, looking between you and Foggy.

He narrows his eyes and whispers harshly. "Landman and Zack."

"Sorry, buddy. Girl's gotta eat." You turn and go into the bathroom, shutting the door. After showering and dressing, you walk with Foggy and Karen out to the street. Karen stops you both and asks Foggy, "Didn't you work there for an entire year?"

"I did."

"And how long have you worked there, Y/N?"

"It's the job my friend set up from me after I finished high school. So I could pay my way through online school. Three years ago."

"I am ashamed of you, Foggy Nelson."

"What did I do?"

"You didn't bother to get to know the secretary."

"Well, yeah, I did. There was Shelly, and Minnie. And this one girl who was super friendly, but there was nothing in her eyes."

"I guess I'll have to work on that." You joke.

"Oh my god, that was you?"

"Yeah. Blind, remember?" You remind him, even though you know he knew it was only partly the truth. "I'll see you guys later!" You poke at Foggy's expense. Blood rushes to his cheeks and you know he's blushing from embarrassment. You hail a cab and set off to work, a smile on your face.

 

The day of mountains of paperwork and endless typing goes by quicker than usual. It wasn't long before the rumor reached you that the firm might be taking on the murder case.

"Did you hear about that poor little boy?" Shelly inquires after bringing you a fresh cup of tea. "Forced to help his father dismember his mother, can you imagine?"

"Yeah, I think I heard something about that." _I mean, I was there, so..._ You think it best not to mention your involvement.

"Rumor has it Ms. Stahl wants to team up with Nelson and Murdock for the prosecution."

"Nelson and Murdock. Aren't those the guys who were first on the list for job placement last year?"

"Yeah, and the team who took down Wilson Fisk."

"No kidding?"

"I'm not."

"Well, if the rumor proves true, it'll be nice to see what they're up to."

Shelly divulges the rest of the office gossip as you sip on your tea. Today had the usual fare of who was going out with who and which celebrity someone had managed to meet.

“And, Ava, down in accounting, even knows one of the girls who worked at the restaurant, can you believe it?”

“Sorry, what?” Your focus snaps back to Shelly.

“Ava? You remember her.”

“Yeah, but who does she know?”

“Oh, one of the girls who worked at the restaurant that murder owned.”

“Did Ava say her name?”

“I think it was Annie or Toni or something like that.”

“Antonia?”

“That sounds right. Apparently a girl came up to her apartment with the little boy and used her phone to call the police. Didn’t get a good look at her face because she was wearing a mask.”

“Did she say anything else?”

“Antonia told Ava who told me that this little boy went on and on about how the girl was going to protect him. Even going so far to say that she worked with Daredevil and that they saved him.”

“Sounds like she made quite an impression.”

“He also told her he knew her name, but promised that he wouldn’t tell.”

“That’s a pretty big secret for a seven year old.”

Shelly opens her mouth to speak but stops, registering the new information. You realize that she hadn’t actually told you the age of the boy. And you had told her that you had heard about the story in passing.

“I mean, I’m assuming he’s seven. He sounds just like my friend’s son at that age.”

“Right.” She smiles, a little wary of your explanation.

When the clock on your desk tells you it was five o’clock, you try to bolt from your desk as fast as you can. Minnie, Ms. Stahl’s personal secretary, catches you.

“Shelly told me you knew how old that poor boy is.”

“Yeah, I guess I do. I was just guessing really.” You try to brush her off, but she is persistent.

“What else do you know? Have you been speaking to someone who was there? Were you there?”

“I was the one who called the police.” You say flat out, not a quiver or waver in your voice.

“But Shelly heard from Ava who heard from that Antonia girl that it was a masked vigilante.”

“Why couldn’t that have been me?”

“Because you’re blind.” She says in a tone that made it sound like it should’ve been followed up with a ‘duh.’

“Oh, right. I forgot. Better take my blind self home and forget about my blind dreams of becoming a blind masked vigilante.” You inject your voice with sarcasm, pushing past her.

 

When you arrive at Nelson and Murdock, Matt answers the door, sensing that you’d been fuming the whole ride over.

“What’s wrong?”

“Office gossips. Can’t stand them.”

“What did they do this time?” Foggy asks, leaning on Karen’s desk.

“They were talking about the murder case. Is it true you two are teaming up with Marci Stahl on the prosecution?”

“She approached us today.” Matt nods.

“Okay. Do it. She’s an amazing lawyer and super sweet to those who don’t constantly refer to her as a demon.” You shoot a glare at Foggy.

“Why am I under attack today!”

You ignore Foggy and focus on speaking to Matt. “Can we speak in your office?”

“I don’t know why not.”

He sits behind his desk, gesturing for you to sit. “What do you want to discuss?”

You sit, “I think I did a bad thing.”

“What did you do?” He leans forward in his chair.

“I told Minnie that I’m the girl who saved the little boy.”

“Oh. Is that all?” He laughs.

“Isn’t that bad, though?” He shocks you with his lack of concern.

“Did she believe you?”

“Well, no.”

“And why not?”

“Because I’m blind.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, then.”

“But, she _knows_  I’m a perfectly functional person. I can do things just, as well as, if not better than, a sighted person. Hell, I don't even use a stick thing to pretend to get around.” You felt yourself get defensive of your potential.

“People tend to cling to people’s handicaps. Even if they don’t affect the handicapped person in any way. You present yourself as someone unhindered by their circumstances. But to them, you're still the blind girl. You being a vigilante is unrealistic to her because her idea of your handicap tells her you can't be one.”

You sit back in your chair, realizing Matt was right. Despite everything you know you can do, all your friends and all you coworkers will still think of you as the blind girl. Someone who needs help and pity.

“We should go do some training before you kick Luke’s ass tomorrow.” Matt breaks through your racing thoughts. You nod and follow him out, picking up your gym bag from the closet.

“I’ll be out late. Don’t wait up for me.” You call over your shoulder, making Karen laugh.


	5. Chapter 5

“What do you hear?”

“Sirens. Barking dogs.” You focus on the sound all too familiar to you. “Gangbangers. Taunting some teenage girls.”

“Where?”

“Two blocks south of here.”

“Go.”

You dart across the roof of the apartment building, leaping to the building next door. You know Matt is following, but you also know he is there to observe, not to help, making you run even faster.

You slide down a ladder reaching from the roof to about ten feet above the closed dumpsters.

“Hey, why don’t you ladies come over here, we can show you a good time.” They jeer, circling the girls, whose terrified hearts thud in your ears.

“No, thanks.” The girls beg. “We’re just trying to get home. We don’t want any trouble.”

You crash onto the dumpster, attracting all the attention. Leaping into the alley, you shout, “Hey! Why not pick on someone your own size?”

“ _Tā zhàogù. Wǒmen jiāng cǎiqǔ zhèxiē nǚhái Gāo. Wǒmen Zhīhòu yǒu yīdiǎn lèqù._ ”

 _You have got to be kidding me._ You think as two guys come lurching after you.

One swipes at your head, but you dodge, sinking a kick into his gut. He grunts and grabs your ankle, grappling you to the ground. The other grasps your waist, picking you up over his shoulders and tries to throw you to the ground. You twist out of his grip, landing on your feet. After a second to gauge your proximity, you kick down the one who grappled you and send him reeling to the ground. The second guy lunges again, but you sidestep, sending him off balance and into the pavement. You pick him up by the shirt collar and give him three hard ones to the face, his nose exploding in blood and snot.

" _Zǒu! Zǒu! Zǒu!_ " Their leader shouts, sending three more guys after you. A few swift kicks and punches send them into the trash where they belong. You run up the alley towards the leader and take a solid punch in the gut by a guy who basically materialized before you.

"Uh!" You grunt, stumbling back a few steps. The guy who punched you was at least three times your size and taller than Matt. "Oh, fuck!" You shout as he brings down his huge fists over your head. You manage to duck out of the way, but get side swept by a powerful blow to the head. You crash into the brick wall, the breath knocked out of you, your 'vision' going starry.

"Motherfucker." You groan. The guy barrels after you, burying his fist into your stomach. Wrapping your hands around his wrist and twisting, you reach for his elbow and push it up hard.

He roars in pain as you dislocate his elbow and you use the opportunity to dash around him and take out the leader. You grab his shirt with one hand and punch him in the face with the other, letting him fall to the ground. Pinning down his arms, you beat his face until he's passed out. You stand, turning to the girls, whose hearts still thunder in their chests.

"Are you girls alright?" You ask. They scream and ran away, sneakers thudding down the sidewalk.

One of the men groan behind you and you turn, booking it onto the dumpster and up the ladder.

"You did well." Matt says as you climb over the ledge.

"Thanks." You pant, rubbing your stomach.

"Yeah, that's gonna hurt tomorrow." He laughs. "Your head is going hurt worse."

"I don't doubt it."

"C'mon. We should go before they come around."

"Yeah, probably." You smile, following him to another rooftop.

You two perch on the edge of the roof, listening for anything that might need your attention. After a moment you decide to bring up something you'd been meaning to tell him all night.

"Hey, Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"My mom's coming up from Virginia on Monday."

"And this is relevant to me why?"

"She wants to meet you."

"She what?"

"Well, I told her that I'd made some new friends getting out of yet another scrape and she wants to meet my savior."

"Is that so?" He smirked.

"Feel lucky she hasn't baked you a pie."

"Is that something she's done for all of your lawyers?"

"Well, no. But her mom's from the South and it's just something you do. Pie or casserole, as a thank you."

"That's actually really sweet. Why don't people do that anymore?"

"I couldn't tell you. When my sister crashed the family car into a fence post, my mom made her bake pies for everyone who helped."

"Your mom sounds like one hell of a woman."

"Is it okay if I bring her by? It'll only be for a few minutes."

"Yeah. Actually, there's this cocktail party thing Jessica invited Foggy, Karen and I to. She said we could bring whoever we wanted, so I'll tell her you and your mom wanted to come by."

"I think my mother might die. A sophisticated New York soiree, with a handsome lawyer? Every Southern woman's dream."

"Happy to be of service."

Both of you stay out for another hour or two before deciding to call it a night. Matt reminds you to get plenty of rest before your practice session with Luke the next day.

"Oh, I plan on sleeping in, so don't send Nelson and Page over again!" You put a threatening tone in your voice, but not enough to be truly menacing.

"I'll try to keep them away until at least 11." He laughs before you part ways.


	6. Chapter 6

“Yeah, mom, we’re going to go to a cocktail party on Wednesday and you’ll get to meet my lawyers.” You smile into the phone, imagining your mother’s reaction to the news.

“Does this lawyer of yours have a girlfriend?”

“Mom!”

“Well, does he?”

“I don’t know!”

“Well, why don’t you ask?”

“Because it’s a little rude, don’t you think?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Fine, do you wanna ask him?”

“Maybe I do.”

“Well, he’s right here. You want me to put him on?” You wave Matt over, a huge grin on his face. “Here he is, ma.” You hand him the phone with a quiet, “Be careful.”

“Your mama sounds just like mine.” Luke laughs, wrapping his hands for our imminent practice bout.

“Hello, Mrs. Y/L/N.”

“Is this Matthew? My daughter has told me all about you.”

“Yes, this is Matthew. I heard you have a question for me?”

“I was wondering, dear, if you had yourself a girlfriend? My daughter is awfully lonely up there in that big city, and I want to make sure she’s well taken care of.”

Matt smiles, laughing a little. “No, ma’am, I don’t have a girlfriend. I am honored you thought of me as a candidate for someone as wonderful as your daughter. I do promise that she is well taken care of.”

“That’s good to hear. I can’t wait to meet all her friends on my visit.”

“And we can’t wait to meet you. Would you like me to put Y/N back on?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind, dear.”

“My pleasure. See you on Wednesday, Mrs. Y/L/N.”

“Bye-bye now.”

“Goodbye.” Matt hands the phone back to you, holding back his giggles.

“So, what do you think, mom?”

“What a charmer! I can’t believe that man hasn’t stolen your heart yet!”

“I met him on Monday, mom. Besides, he’s kinda my lawyer.”

“Well, that never stopped anyone before, I’ll bet.”

“Probably not. I can’t believe my own mother is trying to convince me to break an ethical code, not to mention the law.”

"Oh, life is short, sweetie! Do what makes you happy!"

"I'll be sure to remember that, mom. Give my love to dad and I'll see you on Monday."

"Alright, sweetie. See you then! Love you!"

"Love you too! Bye!"

"Bye-bye!"

You hang up your phone and toss it into your purse, sitting open on the edge of the mat.

"Shut up." You point at Matt and grab the tape from your bag.

"I didn't say anything." He grins, holding back a snort.

"Once my momma gets an idea in her head, she will never, ever, let it go." You shake your head, starting on the wrappings for your hands.  "And now that you told her you don't have a girlfriend? She's going to be spending her whole week trying to get us together."

"Well, she asked. And I answered truthfully."

You roll your eyes. Luke laughs and shakes his head, "Moms. Can't live with 'em, would be alive without them."

"Truer words have never been spoken, my friend." You zip up your armored jacket and slip on your gloves. "You ready for this?"

"I was born ready."

You both take a starting stance across from one another on the mat. He is over a foot taller than you and enormous by comparison. You count your lucky stars that he couldn't hear your heart rate rising.

He lunges, reaching for your waist. You step aside, letting him run past, latching onto his knee and pulling it out from under him. You straddle his back, and twist his arm behind him, like you had done earlier this week with Matt.

"That's just not fair," Luke grunts. He twists his hand around your wrist and flips himself under you. Throwing you off balance, he manages to flip you on your back, putting you in choke hold.

You gasp for breath, but don't relent. Using your teeth to take off your glove, you reach your free hand between you and pinch the skin on his side with your nails.

"What the-?" Though it doesn't hurt him, it distracts him enough to loosen his grip on you.

You roll to your feet, taking a moment to catch your breath before analyzing the situation. Luke is five feet from you and gauging his next attack. You decide to act before he can, kicking him hard in the jaw. You hear a loud pop and your knee burst in pain, sending you falling to the ground.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" You cry, trying to grab your knee, but it just won't bend. "I think I tore something."

"Oh, shit." Matt mutters before rushing to your side, putting a hand in either side of your knee.

"Fuck, man, your jaw is like kicking a brick wall!" You moan, beating the mat with your fist as Matt resets your knee.

"Yeah, probably should've warned you about that." He rubs his jaw, _As if I fucking hurt him_ , and smiles.

"Jessica, can you get that brace out of my bag?" Matt calls over to the illustrious Jones, only now making her presence known to you.

"I told you she wasn't ready, Luke. Not to fight people like you." She hands the knee brace to Matt and pulls Luke aside.

Matt does his best to help you up. "Are you doing okay?"

"No. I think I need to see a doctor." You groan, hobbling over to a chair.

He kneels in front of you, examining your knee. "Nothing sounds torn." He said as he bent your knee. You yelp in pain, biting your lip to keep the sound back. "You'll need to keep it on ice, but it's just sprained." He straps the brace around your knee and stands. "Need help?"

"No, just leave me here to die." You say dramatically, throwing your arm over your eyes.

"Oh, c'mon, you're gonna live." He helps you out of the chair, putting your arm over his shoulders, and his arm around your waist. He helps you out to a cab, Jessica and Luke close behind with your stuff. "You want me to come with you?" He asks after settling you into the seat.

"I think I can manage, Matt." You assure him, taking your bag from Jessica. "Ice and rest, right?"

"That should do it."

"I'll come by here tomorrow if I can walk." You shut the door.

"Hey, I'm sorry, man." Luke apologizes, leaning down into the window.

"It's alright, Luke. I understand." You smile. "45th and 9th, please."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your mother is finally here on her visit, still with the idea in her head that you and Matt should be together. When you try to convince your mother that you two can't be together at the cocktail party, Matt isn't exactly helping your case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has read, left kudos for, and commented on, this work! I'm very proud of what I've put up so far, and I hope you have enjoyed reading it! I am currently working on the next few chapters and we'll just say things take an interesting turn. Thank you again! Enjoy!

“Darlin’! It’s so good to see you!” Your mother greets you, wrapping her arms around you.

“Hey, mom! How was your flight?”

“Good! Dad says hello and sends his love. He wishes he could be here, but you know how work keeps him.”

“I understand. It’s so good to hear your voice in person!” You two head over to the baggage claim and collect her luggage. “Only two bags this time? Are you downsizing?”

“I didn’t bring a carry on this time. Too hard to remember everything you can and can’t pack these days.”

“I hope you forgot to bring something to wear on Wednesday.”

“Why would I ever?”

“Well, I thought you might want to go shopping somewhere nice. Like, I dunno, Fifth Avenue?”

“You think they might have something for someone as old as me?”

“Mom, you’re barely fifty! They’ll have something for you, no problem!”

“I can’t believe my daughter is taking me to a fancy cocktail party in New York City.”

“I can’t believe my mom is here to go with me!” You grin, leading her out to the busy drive. After hailing a cab and loading up your mother’s things, you give the cabbie your address, and relax in the backseat with your mom.

“So, how has the city been treating you?”

“I’m doing just fine, mom. Landman and Zack is a great place to work and I have lots of friends.”

“Who all do I get to meet at this cocktail party?”

“Well, there’s going to be Matt Murdock, and his partner Foggy Nelson. Karen Page, who works for them and is Foggy’s girlfriend, and Jessica Jones. Oh, and Luke Cage, hopefully.”

“Jessica Jones, where have I heard that name before?”

“You might remember her as Jewel? That superhero from a few years back?”

“Yes! I do remember hearing about her! She seems like a lovely girl.”

“She’s pretty nice most of the time.”

“Oh! Dear!” Your mother gasps.

“What? What’s wrong?” You search the cab for something but can’t find a thing.

“Your knee! I feel like a terrible mother for not asking!”

“Oh,” your heart slows and you become less panicked. “It’s nothing, ma. Just an accident at, uh, my, uh, self defense class?”

“What kind of self defense class are you taking?”

“A good one.”

The cab pulls up in front of your apartment building. You hop out to get your mom’s bags, putting them on the sidewalk while you pay the cabbie.

“Hey, ma’am, you need help with those?” A slimy character slinks out of the early morning shadows, standing a little too close to your mom.

“Here’s the fare, keep the change.” You hand the cabbie a fifty and turn to the creep.

“She’s fine, sir. We don’t need your help.” You crack your knuckles.

“Hey, I don’t want no trouble, okay?”

“Then beat it.”

"I just wanna help the nice lady, and you don't seem up to the task."

"Oh, trust me. I can handle it."

"Hey, I-" He reaches for a bag handle and you grab his wrist, twisting it and squeezing as tight as you can.

"Leave. Before I decide to be a little less kind." You let go and he scrambles away, back to the alley where he came from.

"Oh, goodness! People here are not as they seem!"

"You got that right." You sigh, picking up the two bags on the sidewalk. "Come on. I'll make you some breakfast."

 

Since you had Mondays off, you and your mom spent the day going to all the touristy parts of New York. Empire State Building, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Times Square. Even accepted an offer to meet Karen and Foggy for dinner after a little trip to SoHo.

"So, how long have you two been together?"

"Uhm," Karen laughs a little. "It's been about a month or so, wouldn't you say, Foggy?"

"Yeah, there about. How long are your going to be in New York, Mrs. Y/L/N?"

"Oh, please, call me Laura. I'm just going to be here until Sunday afternoon. Then I gotta head back to boring old Virginia. Y/N's daddy can't be alone for too long, or else he gets worried."

 

On Tuesday, you had to go to work, but manage to get your mom tickets to one of her favorite shows, Mama Mia. Along with a backstage tour with a friend of yours.

You leave work early to take her shopping on Fifth Avenue for your outfits for the cocktail party. She ends up picking out a nice burgundy pantsuit that suits her figure well. For you she picks a black sparkly floor length gown that had an open back, a high neck, and long sleeves.

"Mom, I don't think this is appropriate for a cocktail party, do you?"

"Who cares! It looks absolutely wonderful on you, darling!"

The man who was helping you agrees, saying, "If you don't make a statement, it's like you were never there at all."

"I guess so. Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. You're going to be the belle of the ball."

"Okay! Okay! I'll get it!" You laugh, imagining what it must look like to her.

 

Wednesday night comes all too soon.

Before you know it, you are stepping out of a town car onto the steps of the Waldorf Astoria. Your mom swept your hair into a low bun, with a few loose curls framing your face. Your gown, dripping with sequins, glitters under the soft lights.

Your mother is glowing, her pantsuit a perfect fit and her hair done in a stylish up do.  Her heels click on the pavement as she joins you up the stairs and into the lobby of the beautiful hotel.

"Oh my god!" Jessica exclaims when she sees you. She is wearing a glamorous knee length cocktail dress, emerald green according to your mother, and has her hair in a high ponytail. "You look gorgeous!"

"Thanks, Jessica. Oh! This is my mother, Laura Y/L/N. Mom, this is Jessica Jones."

"A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Jones." They shake hands and start chatting about something, you don't pay attention to what.

You search through the various guests, from foreign dignitaries to local government employees. You hope to hear the familiar tap of Matt's cane, but to no avail.

"Wow. Just, wow." A voice says behind you. You spin around and lay eyes on Matt, sharply dressed in a tux.

"It's not too much?"

"If you must know, there's really no such thing as overdressing. If anything, everyone else in under dressed.”

"Well, I must say you look rather dashing." You reach up and adjust his bowtie, which had gone a little askew.

“You look wonderful, Y/N.”

“Thanks. My mom picked it out.”

“She’s got taste. I’m jealous.”

“Where’s Foggy and Karen?”

“Oh, they aren’t far behind, I’m sure.”

Jessica announces that the ballroom is ready and to follow her. Matt offers his arm and you accept with a smile.

“Such a gentleman.” You compliment. An elderly photographer with a film camera catches sight of you two and starts snapping pictures.

“Excuse me, Mr. Murdock, I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for the society page?” A smallish man with a notepad appears out of the shadows.

“I don’t see why not. What would you like to know?”

“Do you think your blindness has helped or hindered your progress as a lawyer in Hell’s Kitchen?”

You just about told off the ‘reporter’, but Matt stops you, graciously answering. “I find my blindness to be enormously helpful. Especially when determining the guilt of my client.”

“And,” the reporter turns to you. “Has Mr. Murdock’s blindness affected your relationship to him at all?”

“Excuse me?”

“As his girlfriend-”

“We aren’t together.”

“Oh.”

“And, if we were, I wouldn’t let something so trivial as being blind affect our relationship. Especially since I’m blind myself.” You state matter-of-factly. “I don’t think we should keep Jessica waiting, do you, Matt?”

“No, I don’t think we should.” He nods, walking with you away from the reporter.

"Y/N! Over here!" Your mother calls. She stands between Jessica and Luke, the biggest smile on her face.

"Your mother?"

"Yeah. Try not to charm her too much." You lead him over to your mother.

"Mother, may I introduce Matthew Murdock? Matt, this is my mother, Laura Y/L/N." You slip your hand from his arm, hoping your mother doesn't notice.

"A pleasure to finally meet you in person, Mrs. Y/L/N." Matt smiles and, you wish you were kidding, kisses your mother's hand.

"Oh, my goodness. Such a gentleman." Your mother blushes. "Please, call me Laura."

"I can see where Y/N gets her stunningly good looks."

"Oh, stop it. Where ever did you find such a charming lawyer, Y/N?"

"Well, mom, let's just say he found me."

"Can I get you ladies something to drink?" Matt offers.

"I'll have a sidecar, if you don't mind, and Y/N will have a vodka martini." Your mother smiles and Matt asks Luke to come with him.

"Oh my lord, he is far more handsome than you gave him credit for." She fans herself with her hand, pretending to be faint from the sight of him.

"Mom!"

"Not to mention sweet and charming! He's the whole package, dear."

"I think I'm going to have to agree with your mom on this one."

"Jessica!"

"I'm just being honest, Y/N."

"You'd better snatch that boy up before someone else does."

"Mom, I can't."

"Why not?" She seems aghast at the thought.

"Because, well, it's complicated."

"He's a handsome lawyer, you're a beautiful secretary, what's so complicated about that?"

"We kind of work together?"

"I thought you worked at Landman and Zach?"

"I do. We work together in a different capacity."

"What is it you two are doing together?"

Just as you open your mouth to tell her another lie, Matt returns to do it for you. "We are working together to start a charity for underprivileged children with special disabilities. Like the disability your daughter and I share." He hands your mother her sidecar and you an extra dirty vodka martini.

"I had no idea that you were blind, Matthew. You carry yourself in such a way that I never would've guessed."

"Usually the glasses give it away." He taps the rim of his round dark glasses, smirking a little.

Then, as if summoned by magic, Foggy and Karen appear, decked out in matching cobalt blue cocktail attire. They distract your mother enough for you to pull Matt away for a moment.

"Hey, thanks for stepping in like that. My mom is always on me about finding someone, and I'm not sure how much longer I can keep her at bay."

"It's no problem. She's a lovely woman, but I've got a feeling that she is fond of the idea of grandchildren."

"Like you wouldn't believe." You take a drink of your martini. "My brother hasn't helped with that either. Married two years ago with twins on the way." You look back at your mother, engrossed in conversation. "As soon as they're born, I have maybe two or three months of good distraction before she tries to infect me."

"Wait. You have a brother and a sister?"

"Older brother by three years, younger sister by four. I currently hold the family record of longest time spent single since puberty at six years."

"I'm impressed." He smiles. "Though, we should probably go back before she decides Karen and Foggy are the people to convince us."

“Ah, Y/N! We were just talking about our need of a paralegal. Our caseload is piling up as of late, and it’d be nice to have some help.” Foggy smiles as you two approached, putting his arm around your shoulders.

“Dear, you’ve always been good at that whole research thing, I think it would be perfect for you!”

“I think it might constitute as a conflict of interest, there, Foggy. What with me working at Landman and Zach and all.” You observe with a smile, stepping out from under his arm.

“Besides, the pay would be crap by comparison.” Matt agrees.

“I’d be willing to help you guys out, sure. But only on a volunteer basis.”

“Oh, come on, young padawan! Turn away from the dark side and into the light!”

"Foggy," You put a hand on his shoulder, a none-too-mournful look on your face. "You have to admit that the dark side has some great benefits."


	8. Chapter 8

“Y/N, darling, you’re on Bill Cunningham’s page!” Your mom calls excitedly from the kitchen, flipping through the Sunday Times. You are in your room putting on your favorite pencil skirt and blouse. You told your mom you were going to help the boys with their paralegal work after dropping her off at the airport.

“Oh?” You call back, hoping she’d elaborate on who exactly Bill Cunningham is.

“He’s that famous fashion photographer. The one that does the ‘On the Street’ column? You must've seen some of his work.”

“I don’t know if I’ve seen it, mom, but I think I’ve heard of him.”

“Oh, right. Sorry. I forgot. You can’t ‘see’ things printed on a page, can you?”

“Yeah, my abilities help me do incredible things, but that is not one of them.” You come out of your room, putting an earring in your ear.

“Does Matthew have the same abilities?”

You remember back to Wednesday night, when he lied for you. He said something about starting a foundation for youth with disabilities like yours.

“You caught that, didn’t you?” You wince a little.

“I did, dear. You know I don’t miss much.” She looks over the pictures on the pages of the Times. You desperately wish to see them, wondering what you look like to this Bill Cunningham.

You sigh. “Yeah, he does have the same abilities as me. And the same… tutor.”

“That Stick fellow?” She shut the paper and set it on the table. “The one that took you from me for 10 years?”

“Mom, you know it wasn’t like that.”

“I get it. He wanted to train you to control your abilities so you could function as a person.”

“I was miserable at home.”

“I tried to build a loving home for you, you know that.”

“I’m not saying you didn’t, but you didn’t know how to deal with a kid like me.”

“Deal? Honey, I never ‘dealt’ with you. I cared for you. Did that Stick care for you?”

“You know he did.”

“Did he love you?”

“No. No he didn’t. And you did. Which is why you let him take me.”

“I didn’t let him do anything.” She stops, and you can tell she is unsure if she wants to speak the next three words. “Your father did.”

“What?”

“He told me we needed the money, and that you’d be in better hands, that this man knew better than your own mother.”

You can’t believe it. All this time, you thought your parents had just given you up. You knew they loved you and wanted you to be happy. But you had thought they couldn’t have been happier to get rid of you and focus on their normal kids. Turns out, your dad sold you like a heifer.

“But, I still got to visit, right? And write you every month.”

“Yes, you did. But I missed you growing up. I missed being your tooth fairy and Easter Bunny, and your first and last days of school.”

You are close to tears. This is hardly the conversation you wanted to have with your mother before she went home.

“If I ever have kids,” your mom perks up at that. You smile. “You’ll get to be their tooth fairy and their Easter Bunny. I promise.” You reach for her hand, and she takes it, squeezing tight.

“I can’t guarantee whose kids they’ll be, but I’m sure I’ll have them eventually.” You joke, making her smile too. “Besides, I’ve still got a few years. Don’t Joey and Martin have those twins coming?”

You manage to divert the conversation to the light subject of the new babies. She gives you all the updates on their surrogate mother, Imelda, and how they picked out a laundry list of names. She also assures you that yours and hers are on the top of the list for girls. The cab ride to the airport seems shorter as you discuss plans to go visit your brothers after the babies are born.

“I’m going to miss you, Mom.” You say, hugging her goodbye.

“I miss you already, sweetie.”

You wait until she disappears in the security line before hailing a cab to Nelson and Murdock.

“You alright, kid?” The cabbie asks, likely seeing the sad expression on your face.

“Just said goodbye to my mom. And found out my dad isn’t what he seems. I’m fine.”

“Alright. You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Where you headed?”

You give him the address of Nelson and Murdock, sitting back in the seat.

 

“Your mom gone?” Foggy asks as he lets you into the office.

You nod, asking, “How’d you guess?”

“I can usually detect the aura of sadness when a parent leaves.”

“That’s comforting.”

“I try.”

You smile, laughing a little.

"Ah, Y/N. Good of you to show. There is plenty of filing to get done." Matt gestures to the small conference room. Stacks of paper rest on the table, towering over the two figures inside.

"I see you managed to rope Karen and Luke into this." You put your purse on the coat rack and go into the room.

"Hey, Y/N." Karen and Luke chime in unison.

"Matt convince you to come by too?" Karen asks, looking up from her folder.

"He promised coffee and pizza. How could a girl say no?" You sit, picking up a file folder labeled with black sharpie. "How does this work?"

"Actually, you're going to be sorting the Braille papers." She moves two stacks of thick, heavy paper in front of you

"Oh, great."  You feel the page for the title. _The Devil of Hell's Kitchen_ , you read, smirking.

"Would _'The Devil of Hell's Kitchen'_ be under 'T' or 'D'?"

"That would be under 'D'."

"Thanks." You set to work, sorting the pages upon pages of Braille.

"How's it going in here, kids?" Foggy comes in with your coffee orders, placing them down in front of their respective person.

"It'd go better with more pairs of hands." Karen says, putting down the page in her hand and picking up the coffee.

"Two pairs of hands are better than one." You point out.

"Well, Matt and I are doing important case work on this murder."

"You were literally just listening to Dancing Queen in your office." Luke gives Foggy a look of disbelief.

"Okay, _Matt_ is doing important case work."

"Good! You can sort these while we take a break." Karen smiles, stands, and kisses Foggy on the cheek. You and Luke join her out by her desk, stretching and groaning.

"God dammit. Why do I always get pulled in by her feminine wiles?" You hear Foggy grumble.

You poke your head back into the conference room with a smile. "Don't blame Karen. If you didn't want to work today, you shouldn't have come in." You duck out of the room before he can retort, turning face to face with Matt.

"Were you just scolding Foggy?"

"Maybe." Your heart skips a beat and you expect Matt to scold you in return.

"Good. He could use a little scolding."

You heave a sigh of relief. "So, how's the case going?"

"Prosecuting this case is going to be easy. Especially since the defendant has admitted to it." He says loudly enough for Karen and Luke to hear, before murmuring to you. "Have you visited Burhan recently?"

"I did on Friday night, after mom went to bed."

"How is he doing?"

"He's still confused about the legal process, but he's seven, so I'm not surprised. Antonia is his court appointed legal guardian until the conclusion of the case. Afterwards, he's going to be a ward of the state, unless she adopts him or a relative claims him."

"We'll make sure he gets in the right hands." Matt puts a hand on your shoulder to comfort you, knowing you worried about the kid.

"So, Matt, want to put aside that murder case for a bit and help Y/N with those Braille documents?" Luke asks, butting into the conversation. "I'm sure she'd appreciate the help."

Matt drops his hand from your shoulder and takes a step back, making sure you are at an appropriate distance.

"I'd love to help, but I've got some files to order. The Braille copies didn't come with the paper like I asked, so I have to reorder them."

"Yeah, I've got a really specific ordering system that I'm going with, and I don't want to have to teach Matt about it."

"Trust me, I am not a fast learner."

Feeling like your excuses were enough, you retreat to your work spaces. Foggy gets up to follow Matt to his office and Karen and Luke join you.

"Are you okay?" Karen asks, putting a hand on yours.

"Yeah, I'm fine." You lie.

"Man, are you alright?" Foggy asks Matt, closing the door and sitting in the chair across from him.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Cause it got pretty awkward pretty fast in there."

"Did it? I hadn't noticed."

You turn back to your work, tuning out all the sound around you until the pizza finally arrives at two. After having a slice, you all decided to call it quits on the sorting and paperwork and go for round two on Monday.

"Hey, do you wanna go out tonight?" Matt asks, putting on his suit jacket that had been hanging on the coat rack.

You grab your purse. "Yeah, sure. Where do you want to meet up?"

"I can swing by your place and we can head out from there?"

"Awesome. See you tonight." You smile and head out the door. As soon as it clicks shut, you can hear Karen go, "Oooooo. Hot date tonight, Murdock?" in a teasing tone.

"Oh, can it, Karen. We're just going to the gym."

"I can see that being a hot date." Foggy chimes in. "Get a little MMA action going, little one two, one two, get the blood flowing."

"Yeah, if you don't shut it right now, I'll show you a 'little one two' action there, Nelson."

You laugh, heading down the stairs to the ground floor and out the front door.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's where things get a little interesting. At the beginning of writing this piece, I certainly was not expecting for it to go this direction. I'm hoping you all enjoy reading this story as much as I am enjoying writing it! Let me know what you think in the comments!

You glance over at Matt, trying to read the half of his face you can make out. He remains stoically expressionless and you sigh, facing the city lain out before you. It’s been a few weeks since your mom visited and you let your mind wander to when she was here.

_I hope she’s doing okay,_ is your last thought before you check Matt’s stoic chin again. _I wonder if his lips are soft? He looks like the kind of guy with soft lips. I wonder- wait, what?_ You stop yourself. _What in the hell am I thinking? I can't have a crush on my boss!_

"You okay?" Matt's voice breaks through your thoughts.

You realize your heart is racing and focus on slowing it down. "My mind wandered, sorry."

"Oh?"

"It's nothing. Did you hear anything?"

"No. Hell's Kitchen has been way too quiet lately."

"Maybe you should broaden your playing field."

"That's Luke and Jessica's job, and later, yours. For now, we're just going to focus on Hell's Kitchen."

"Wait." You listen for a moment, hearing a crash and a scream. "Three o'clock." You both turn and run towards the sound, with you following hot in Matt's heels.

_Man, he has a nice ass WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?!?_

As you vault over a ledge and leap over an alley, you lose your footing as you land on the other side.

"Shit!" Your foot slips off the ledge and you fall into open space, catching the edge and slamming into the building.

"Y/N?" Matt stops halfway across the roof and turns around, running back to the ledge. "Y/N!" He wraps his hand around your wrist and reaches for your other hand, which you swing up and give. Matt hauls you up onto the rooftop and put his arm around you, holding you close. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." You shove him off, unsure of the feelings roiling in the pit of your stomach. You listen again for that distressed person and pick up the sound. "Let's just go." You run off ahead of him, trying to clear all thoughts from your mind.

 

Later that night, you collapse on your coach, drenched in sweat and blood. Luckily, not your own blood, which was a small victory. Matt fell into the chair across from you and heaved a sigh.

"Okay. What's up?" He pulls off his mask and unzips his jacket.

I don't know, Matt. Do I like you? Do I hate you? Who the fuck knows? "The sky?" You joke, trying to hide your racing mind.

"You haven't been able to focus all night. What's distracting you?"

_You._ "Just, work stuff. Not this work stuff, but my paid work stuff." You sigh. "And, to a certain extent, this work stuff."

"How so?"

"It's getting hard to hide who's been cleaning up the crime around here from my coworkers."

"Aren't they the ones that don't believe that you could possibly be a vigilante?"

"Yeah, but I'm also a terrible liar."

"I see."

"No, you don't."

"You're right, I don't." It's his turn to joke.

"I mean, you only have to hide it from Karen. I have to hide it from my parents, my siblings, most of my friends, the people I work with. 'I fell down the stairs' can only work for so long."

“Getting hit by a bike also works.”

“Ha ha, very funny.” You stand, taking off your mask and tossing it aside. You walk towards the kitchen, stripping down to your spandex shirt and leggings. You fill two glasses with ice and ask if Matt wants a glass of water.

“Yeah, sure.”

You hear him stand and move around your living room, examining the photos and paintings on the walls. You fill the two glasses and rejoin him in the living room.

“You know, I don’t think work is the only thing distracting you.”

“God, you sound like Stick.” Matt flinches at the sound of his name. You apologize, though you weren’t sure why. You normally don’t mind making Matt squirm.

“What’s going on, Y/N?” He returns to the chair and takes a glass.

You sigh, wanting to spill your heart, but knowing you absolutely can not. “I really don’t know. Something’s going on with me, and I don’t know what it is. It feels like there’s a giant clock over my head, reminding me that it’s all gonna be over before I know it.” It wasn’t exactly a lie.

“This is about your mom, isn’t it?”

“Kind of? I don’t know.” You put your head in your hands, rubbing your eyes hard.

“What day is it?”

“What?” You look up.

“What day is it today?”

“Uhm, Saturday?” You remember to factor in that it’s for sure after midnight.

“Meet me a Josie’s at 11 tonight. I’ll call Luke to do a beat, and we’re going to get drunk and talk this out.”

You nod. “Okay, Murdock. You’re on.”


	10. Chapter 10

Your night at Josie’s ended a little differently than you expected.

Okay, a lot differently.

You carefully planned what you were going to say, down to the inflection and emphasis.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” You say as you shower in the early afternoon, after waking up at noon.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” You mumble as you fix a strong cup of coffee.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” You whisper as you put on your favorite blouse and pants.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” You groan as you burn yourself on your curling iron yet again.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

“I-.” You stop, clutching the empty glass in your hand, the alcohol burning your throat and warming your gut.

He offers no terms, no limits to your conversation. “Whatever you want to talk about, I’m here to listen.”

You don’t know how to begin.

You had rehearsed that statement a hundred times, but you knew it wasn’t true. You can keep doing it, you wanted to keep doing it. You just weren’t sure about him.

You take a deep breath. Watching as Josie refilled your glass, you refuse to meet Matt’s intent stare.

“I-” You stop again. “Fuck me. I don’t know what to fucking say.”

“Drink. Until you know what to say.”

You do, and do again, and again. And again.

“You know what, Matt? My mom is right. You are the complete package. You are willing to sit in a seedy bar, late at night, with a girl you really only barely know. And all you wanna do is listen to her problems! Like, what girl wouldn’t want you for a boyfriend?” You take another drink. “I mean, I kinda want you for a boyfriend.”

“Is that so?”

“Hey,” You point an accusatory finger. “You promised to just listen. No asking questions.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“You wanna know what distracted me yesterday?” The alcohol hits you like a wall, and you find yourself slurring your words a little. “I was busy wondering how soft your lips were. And noticing how great your ass looks in those goddamn, tight-ass pants. Like, what the fuck, dude?” Your ‘vision’ starts going fuzzy, any semblance of focus thrown to the wind. “Try hard much.”

You take another shot and grip the bar, steadying yourself. Even though you were sitting perfectly still and upright, seven shots in quick succession was not good for you.

“You okay?” He puts a hand on your shoulder and you lean into it, nearly falling off the chair.

“Fuck, I’m drunk.” You stumble out of your mouth. “I can usually hold my liquor so well.”

“Maybe we should put you on hold for a bit.”

“Yeah, probably.” You mumble, leaning back against the bar.

“So, is that it? Is that what you wanted to say?”

“No, that’s not everything.” You murmur, barely audible to yourself. You put your head down on the hand gripping the bar, trying to keep it from swimming.

“What else?”

“I would take a fucking bullet for you, man. And not in like a friend way, like, ‘If something shitty comes up, I’ll take the bullet, dude'. Like, I actually would let a piece of lead embed itself into my body if it meant you got to live.

“I can’t stop thinking about what it would be like to lie next to you and listen to you sleep. I mean, I’m pretty sure you only get two minutes of sleep a night, but that’s beside the point. What it would be like to wake up next to you, a little smile on your lips from a good dream you were finally having.

“I keep imagining what you’d insist we name our dog. ‘You go to pick him out, so I get to name him,’ you’d say, because you know I’d pick out the stupid thing.

“I don’t know what I want in life or in the next five or ten or fifteen years, but I know I want you.” You sit up, finally looking him in the eye. Or, at least, as close as you could. “And I can only pray to whatever deity or heavenly body is up there that you want me too.”

Matt stands, helps you up, and puts his jacket around your shoulders. He walks you all the way to your apartment, takes you upstairs and gets you into bed. As he tucks you in, he kisses your cheek and whispers, “I thought you’d never ask.”

 


	11. Chapter 11

You awake the next morning to something sizzling. Sitting up way too quickly, all the blood rushes to your head, piercing the center of your forehead.

“Oooooooow.” You groan, falling back on the pillows.

“Yeah, I’d be careful about getting up so quickly,” You hear a familiar voice say as it opens the curtains. You peek out from under your blankets, taking in the also familiar shape of Matthew Murdock.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Aaaaaaw.”

“Oh stop it.”

You lick your lips, trying to dispel the dryness in your mouth. The taste of minty toothpaste was prominent and you asked Matt about it, sitting up slowly this time.

“Yeah, you threw up last night.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I’ve been drunk plenty of times. Our abilities are absolutely useless in that state, and your brain isn’t used to that.” He goes to check on the breakfast he was making you.

_Oh my god._ You lay back on the pillows, a confused look on your face. _Do I have a boyfriend now?_

You finally manage to roll out of bed and wrap a robe around yourself, plodding to the kitchen table.

“So, uuhm….” You start, unsure whether to ask.

“Yes, Y/N?”

“What… is this?” You gesture broadly, hoping he’d catch your meaning.

“It can be whatever you choose it to be.”

“So, are you my… boyfriend now?” You flinch the word ‘boyfriend’, half expecting your family and friends to burst through the door with banners and streamers, celebrating your venture back into coupledom.

“We should probably go on a date first, don’t you think?”

“Haven’t we been on, like, ten dates already?” You thought of all the times you met up Josie’s by yourselves. The cocktail party that landed you two in Bill Cunningham’s spread. Even the sessions at Fogwell’s could be considered dates. Unconventional dates, but dates nonetheless.

“According to Karen and Foggy we have.”

After eating breakfast and a few moments of uninterrupted watching Matt without worrying that he’d notice, he smiles and asks, "So. What do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

"Well, let's see." You stand, take his hand, and pull him up with you. "We could go to the office and sort paperwork for a few hours." You put your arms around his neck. He responds in kind by putting his arms around your waist and pulling you closer. "Or we could stay here and just lay in bed all day." You stand on your tiptoes and hold yourself inches away from Matt's lips.

"Ten dates, you said?"

"Mm-hm."

He smiles cheekily. "Looks like we've got a lot of catching up to do."

You close the distance, pressing your lips to his oh Jesus they are soft and your body to his as well. Matt bites gently at your bottom lip, growling in pleasure at the gasp you make. You let your nails graze the back of his neck as you bring your hands to his face, pulling him away for a moment to speak. Matt lets out a little noise of complaint and pouts while you talk.

“Are you sure you want this, Matt?” It concerns you that he is doing this for your benefit, so you can be happy. You listen carefully for an answer, but he is all-too-good at not showing his emotions.

He takes a deep breath, but doesn’t say anything. _Uh oh._

After a moment, he finally speaks. “There is nothing I want more in this whole world than to be in your arms, for as long you’ll have me.”

And, with that, your mind is at ease. He kisses you again, hitching your legs around his waist and carrying you to your bedroom. Laying you out gently on the bed, he unties and slips off your robe, exposing the fairly skimpy pajamas you had managed to get yourself into.

“Wow. Just, wow.” He devours every inch of you with his eyes, ghosting his hands down your waist and hips. His voice holds the same inflection as that night at the cocktail party. Pure amazement.

“Oh stop it.” You laugh.

“Why should I ever?” Matt grins wickedly, planting a kiss on your lips before moving down to kiss and suck on your neck.

Just as he is hitting the sweet spot, making your eyes slip close, his phone rings.

Well, it doesn’t really ring.

It just repeats “Foggy” over and over.

Matt ignores it, slowly moving down towards your collarbone.

Then your phone rings, blasting out ‘Baby Got Back’, the ringtone Foggy chose for himself.

“Should I answer?”

Matt sighs, climbing off you. “Fine.”

You scoop your phone off the bedside table. Swiping to the right and putting the receiver to your ear, you lay on your back as close to Matt as possible.

“Hey, Foggy.”

“Hey, Y/N. Do you know where Matt is?”

“Uh, no.” You lie. “I thought he was going into work today?” Matt’s fingers travel up your side, tickling you. You try to squirm away without falling off the bed or laughing.

“I thought so too. If you find out where he is, tell him to give me a call.”

“Yeah, he kinda left his phone at my place last night after he walked me home from Josie’s.” At least you aren’t completely lying to your friend, right?

“Great. Well, do me a favor and find him. It’s kind of important.”

“What’s up?” You ask, sitting up. You hear mumbling in the background and sounds of a camera shutter.

“I think I need to talk to Matt about this.”

“Foggy.”

“It’s about the case.”

You sigh. “Okay. I’ll keep an ear out, see if I can find him.” You pretend to listen for a moment before saying, “Speak of the devil, I think Matt’s here. I’ll have him call you on his phone when he gets to my place.”

“Awesome. Thank you.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

You hung up the phone, tossing it back onto the bedside. “Foggy was at a crime scene.”

“I heard. Do you think everything’s alright?”

“He wouldn’t have called me if it was.”

“Okay. I’m gonna call him. You should probably get dressed.” Matt sits up, rubbing his face with his hands and replacing his glasses.

“Why?”

“You’re coming with me. If it has something to do with the case, it might have something to do with Burhan.”

“Right.” You hop out of bed, quickly searching your closet for something to wear. Ducking into the bathroom to dress and wash up, you listen carefully to Matt’s call with Foggy.

“So, left your phone at Y/N’s, eh?” Foggy teases.

“I leave my phone practically everywhere, you know that.” Matt remains serious. “What did you need to speak to me about.”

“It not the news you were hoping for, that’s for sure.” Foggy sighs heavily. “Antonia’s is dead and Burhan is missing.”

“What!?” You and Matt say in unison. You collapse onto the closed toilet. Matt stands from the bed, clenching and unclenching his fist and running his hand through his hair. You can hear him pace back and forth across the room for the rest of the conversation.

“I told Luke to keep a special eye on that address.”

“He claims he checked up on them twice. He apparently got called away early by Jones.”

“Fuck!” He shouted, eliciting a startled yowl from the cat downstairs.

You finish getting dressed quickly, joining Matt in your room.

“Matt, we have to go, now.” You say, your voice quivering.

He turns and nods. You grab your phone and head out the door, Matt still speaking to Foggy.

“We’re on our way. We’re going to find Burhan.” He tells Foggy, more as an assurance to you than to either of them.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The apartment was different. Stale. Cold. Dead.

Normally, some musical or another would be on. Antonia would either be cooking, studying or practicing her singing. She was attending AMDA and had to prepare auditions for at least three casting calls a month.

Burhan would be working on a project of some kind. Recently, he learned how to knit and knit you and Matt black and red scarves respectively.

But now? Now Antonia’s blank eyes stare into nothing, never to read music or watch a musical again. Her mouth hangs open, never to give voice to another song or monologue again. Her blood paints a message on the wall. A message meant for you.

“How can you Defend your city when you cannot Defend one child?” The officer read out. Matt’s hands clench around his cane and your hands tighten around his arm. You decided to don sunglasses for the time being, separating yourself further from your ‘alter-ego’, but you refuse to get a stick.

“Don’t suppose you know what that means?” The officer asked, turning to you and Matt.

“I wouldn’t know.” You respond, knowing full well what it meant. “Are the D’s capitalized?”

“Yeah. Two of them are.”

“Randomly, or on specific words?”

“Hey, lady, I don’t even know why you’re here, let alone why you’re asking all these questions.”

“I’m Miss Marci Stahl’s secretary, and she is an important member of the prosecution. If this has anything to do with the case on Bur- the boy’s father, we need to know.”

“Alright, well, it looks like the Defends are capitalized. Maybe you should talk to the leader of the Defenders. See if she knows anything.”

“We will, after we’ve finished here.”

The officer shakes his head and walks away, mumbling about crazy lawyers and their crazy secretaries.

"Matt, this is all my fault." You hand drops from his arm and you walk slowly towards Antonia's corpse.

"You didn't kill her, and you didn't kidnap Burhan."

"But if I hadn't been so...." _Monumentally stupid? Ridiculously infatuated?_ "Distracted, we would've been out and we could've saved them."

"Y/N, this isn't your fault."

You look up at the scrawled-out note on the wall. "They're right. How can I expect to defend an entire city when I can't even save one kid." You feel tears welling up in your eyes and you fight to keep them back. You can almost hear Stick in the back of your mind, yelling at you.

"Only the weak get distracted by stupid things. Love, family, friends, they're all distractions. Let yourself get distracted, you let yourself grow weak. And you don't wanna be weak, do you?"

"I'm weak." You whisper. "I let myself get weak and soft and this is my punishment."

 

When you arrive at Nelson and Murdock, having promised to meet Foggy and Matt there, you hear something unusual upstairs. Karen is there, but her heartbeat is slightly elevated, and you can tell she feels nervous. You run upstairs, and, upon opening the door, you come face to face with your mentor.

“Stick.”

“Weird. I thought this was Nelson and Murdock. Not Nelson, Murdock and Y/L/N.” He says, as deadpan as ever.

“It is. I’m here because of the call you made to them.”

“Is that so?”

“It is. They actually did need me after all.”

“In more way than one.” Stick sniffs. You realize Matt’s smell was all over you. Stick’s face shows disapproval.

“I expected Murdock to be the one to let himself get distracted by the unnecessary. Never would’ve guess you would too.”

“I’m not going to apologize.”

“Good. Too many women apologize these days for being people.”

“Never would’ve pegged _you_ as a feminist, Stick.” You push past him and hang up your purse and coat. “How are you today, Karen?”

“I’m doing alright. I see that you know this guy?”

“Yes, he was my tutor throughout junior high and high school. He also tutored Matt when he was a kid.”

“Oh! Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mr.?”

“Stick.”

“Mr. Stick.”

“No, just Stick.” He turns to you. “Where’s Murdock.”

“On his way from a crime scene with Nelson.”

“Right. That kid that got kidnapped.”

“And his caretaker is dead.”

“And you promised to protect him, didn’t you?”

“Karen, do you mind if we step into the conference room?”

“Not at all.” She sounds beyond relieved.

You take Stick by the arm and lead him to the room, shutting the door behind you two.

“If you had anything to do with Burhan, I swear to god I will beat the shit out of you.” You kept your voice low and calm so you don’t raise Karen’s suspicions.

“I had nothing to do with that kid.” A lie.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not.”

“Are you stupid or just old? I can tell that you’re lying to me.”

“Damn.” He sighs, as if he forgot you weren't just some regular blind kid

“Why in the fuck would you kidnap a kid? What good does that do you?”

“I needed to shake you up a bit. You’re getting soft.”

“ _So you kidnapped a kid?_ ” You practically yell. Karen looks up from her laptop.

“Don’t worry, he’s safe.”

“They killed Antonia. How safe could he be?”

“They won’t kill the kid.”

“Where are they?”

You hear the front door of the office open and Matt walk towards the conference room.

“You have to figure that out.”

You grab his shirt collar and pull him close. “Tell me where the fuck Burhan is, old man, or I’ll-.”

Matt pulled you off, shoving Stick back and holding you behind his arm.

“Matthew.”

“Stick.”

“I’m disappointed in you both. Two of my students cleaning up the streets of Hell’s Kitchen together, then turning around and dirtying up your sheets together.”

“You told him?” Matt turns on you.

“No. He smelled you all over me. And I told him I wasn’t going to apologize for it.” You explain. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Matt. He’s a bitter old man who teaches kids that love is meaningless and family is useless.”

It was never obvious to anyone, including yourself, that you didn’t like Stick, or wished he hadn’t found you at all. But now he is standing before you, admitting to kidnapping the boy you had promised to protect and spitting on you for wanting a relationship and a family. And you can’t help but hate him.

“He’s just jealous that his students have more people who love them then he’s ever had.”

Matt turned back to Stick.

“Tell us where he is.”

“If I were jealous, kid, I would do something about it.” Stick says, turning towards the door. “You’re gonna have to find the boy by yourself, Y/N. I didn’t come here to help you.”

“Then what did you come here for?”

“To see just how little you ended up listening to me.” He opens the door and leaves, leaving the two of you in stunned silence.


	13. Chapter 13

“Where are you, Y/N?” You hear the small voice of Burhan above the clash and clamor of the city. “Please come find me.”

_Just keep talking, Burhan, and I’ll find you._ You wish he can hear you, but you had to put that from your mind and just listen.

“I’m so scared. These men say they’re gonna kill you.”

_Who in the hell did Stick hire?_ You listen for the sounds around him, trying to pinpoint his location. Matt vaults back onto the roof and shakes his head.

“They didn’t know anything.”

“It sounds like he’s near the tracks, but which ones I can’t say.”

“You heard him?”

“Yeah. Stand here and just listen.”

Surely enough, Burhan spoke again.

“Y/N, please find me. It’s so dark. The other kids have a flashlight but we only use it when we have to so the batteries don’t die.”

“Other kids?” Matt says.

You shush him, listening to the train that was going by, visualizing it in your mind and tracking its progress.

“They’re near the industrial tracks on the docks.”

“Let’s go.” He starts towards the edge of the roof.

“No.” You grabbed his arm. “Stick said-”

“I don’t care what he said, I’m coming with you.”

“Matt, they want to kill me.” He stops trying to pull away. “Whatever Stick hired them to do, it wasn’t that.”

“I don’t know why that means I shouldn’t come.”

“Because, I need to do this alone.”

“Why? So you can prove you don’t need help? So you can prove him wrong?”

“I just-”

“Fuck Stick. He doesn’t know you.”

“I don’t want to argue with you about this, Matt.”

“Then don’t.”

“I’m going in there by myself.” He opens his mouth to argue again, but you stop him. “Not because I want to prove anything. I don’t want you to get hurt because of one of Stick’s stupid games.”

Matt pulls you close and kisses you. “Okay. But don’t think I’m not going to follow you.”

You roll your eyes and leap over the alley to the next roof.

 

"Did you hear that?" One of the goons inside says as you land on the roof above them.

"Eh. Probably a bird or somethin'."

"Pretty big bird." He picks up a gun and cocks it, heading for the door. You creep across the roof and flip onto the ground just as he opens it. "It's her!" He shouts, finding himself wholly unprepared to fire at you.

You kick the gun from his hand and punch him hard in the nose. He grabs his face and reels to the ground, blood pouring through his fingers.

"What the-?" The other guy does fire at you, but you dodge the bullets with ease, running through to door and tackling him. As you straddle him and grab his collar, he flails, trying to hit you.

"Where are the kids!" You growl after bashing his head against the ground.

"What kids? What're you talking about?"

"The kids you were payed to steal!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Maybe this'll help you remember!" You cock back your fist to deliver another punch, but you hear a gun click behind you.

"Old man said to do whatever it takes." The guy with the bloody nose mumbles, putting his finger on the trigger. You flip onto your back, using the guy as a shield. He fires and get his friend square in the back, who screams in agony. You throw the second guy aside, lunging at the first and disarming him again.

After pulling him into a headlock, which was not small feat due to his size, you growl in his ear. "Where are those fucking kids?"

"I don't know where they are!" He whimpers. If you couldn't hear his revealing heartbeat, you'd almost think he was telling the truth.

"Don't lie to me." You pull your arm tighter, blocking his airway a little more.

"I don't know!"

"Stop lying!" You scream, throwing the huge man down. He lays stunned for a moment, long enough for you to notice the men who join you.

"Do either of you know where I can find these kids?" You turn to them slowly. They look at you and at each other before deciding to attack.

You gave them a solid beat down and manage to get a weak point towards the door they had come through.

Behind it was a long, dimly lit hallway. Seven or eight doors lined the hall, and you listen carefully at each one for familiar sounds. Behind one was a TV, left on but abandoned.

_Are there only four guys in this whole place?_ You tsk. _Exactly how weak do you think I am, Stick?_

"Y/N? Are you here?" Burhan calls from the door at the end. You run toward it, putting a hand on the knob. It doesn't turn.

"Burhan? Is there a lock on your side?"

"Joseph! I need the flashlight! Our _kurtarıcı_ is here!" He cries to a boy inside. The kids all grow excited and you estimate that there was maybe eight or nine in there. " _Kurtarıcı_ , there is not! There must be one on your side!"

_Dammit._ You take off your glove and feel the doorknob for a key or a deadbolt of some kind, but can't find one. Only then did you become aware of the person at the end of the hall.

"I've been expecting you." A feminine voice says quietly. You can hear her smirk.

You turn slowly, putting your glove back on your hand.

"Funny. I thought you'd bring your boyfriend with you, Y/N. From what Stick was saying, you two are inseparable." She tsks.

"Funny. I don't remember you being so unbelievably annoying, Samantha Parrington. You've probably been hanging around Stick too much."

"I'm just calling it like I see it. But I have the key that you need to save your precious kids." She pulls on a chain around her neck that reveals a small key. Smiling and tucking it back in her collar, she says. "Stick told me you have to fight for it."

"Game on, sister." You crouch into a fighting postion, bracing yourself for her imminent attack. She runs towards you, hurling a long, thin blade at your head. It jams itself deep into the wall next to you and you can't help but laugh.

"What're you, blind?" You wrap your arms around her waist and flip her head first over your shoulder. Her skull cracks on the concrete floor behind you, but you know she isn't down.

Samantha tries to sweep out your legs, but you jump, landing so one foot in on either side of her waist. She grabs your knees, sitting up, and you grab her shoulders, hauling her up and against a wall.

Pinning her with one arm, you rip the chain from her neck. She snarls and snaps at your nose, but you're quicker than her and let her drop to the ground.

"C'mon. That's no way to treat a friend."

"We aren't friends." She spits. She tenses up, about to lunge.

"Well, alright then." You cold cock her in the face, stunning her. Samantha takes a few steps back and falls on her ass. She is far from knocked out, but she won't be getting up for a few seconds.

You pull your mask up and unlock the door.

"Burhan, I'm coming in." You open the door and all the kids rush at you, hugging you and crying with joy. Burhan is the last to join, helping Joseph's younger brother to the door. In one arm, you carry the little boy, who says his name is Thomas, and in the other you help along Samantha. The kids follow you out single file and to the docks. Near the edge is Matt, smiling, his mask pulled up.

A little girl, about Burhan's age, gasps. "Are you Daredevil?"

"I am." Matt kneels down and she runs to him, throwing her tiny arms around his neck.

"I wrote all about you in class. My teacher wanted to know who our heroes were so I said you."

"Thank you. I'm glad you think of me as a hero."

"What's your name, miss?" One of the boys asked as I put Samantha on the curb.

"I don't have a name yet." You explain.

"Burry said your friends called you Firecracker."

"They do, but that's because of my temper, not because I throw firecrackers."

You are alerted to the sounds of sirens approaching. You put Thomas on the curb and hand off Samantha to Matt.

"I'll explain later. Go."

"Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." You pull your mask down over your eyes and gather the kids behind you as the police cars pull up.

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for taking so long to get this chapter out! As fun as it is to write, it gets harder and harder to get the plot where I want it to go! Hope you are all enjoying reading as much as I enjoy writing. Let me know what you think in the comments!

The first few cops pile out of the cruiser and aim their weapons at you.

"Put your hands behind your head and kneel down on the ground!" One shouts. You do as ordered and shout back.

"These children are the ones that have gone missing from their homes over the last few weeks. They've been starved and beaten and require medical attention at once."

"Kids?" They mumble and whisper among themselves. You nod to Burhan and he puts his hands up, slowly approaching the vehicles. The other kids to the same. They are quickly searched for weapons and pulled past the line of vehicles.

One officer slowly approached you, his weapon raised and his hands shaking.

“ID yourself!” He calls.

“I have the right to not identify myself to an officer of the law I have not broken the laws he’s sworn to protect.” You call back, standing. “I have no weapons and I have broken no laws.”

He lowers his weapon, pointing it at the ground, but his heart still races in his chest. “How did you find these kids?” He asks, close enough to speak normally.

You slowly lower your arms to your sides, careful not to ball up your fists. “I heard them.”

“Do you work with the Daredevil?" He raises his pistol again. Before you can answer he tries to grab your elbow. "Come with me.”

“I’m sorry, officer. But I can’t do that.”

“And why exactly is that?”

“I have something important to take care of.” You vault over the rail and into the water below. You can hear to officer yelling after you, but you ignore him and swim away.

About half a mile away, you pull yourself up onto another set of docks, where Matt takes your hand and helps you up.

“You really need to work on the whole getaway thing.” He says with a slight grin.

“Yeah, I know.” You take off your mask and wipe the water from your eyes. Samantha looks down at you dripping on the dock, a bruise already blooming on her cheek.

“You disgust me.” She spits.

“Oh, what did I do now?”

“You two know each other?” Matt asks you, looking between you and her.

“Yeah. She trained with Stick at the same time I did. I’m surprised he would send you after a small fry like me, Sammy.”

_“Don’t call me that.”_ She says through gritted teeth.

You stand, pulling the hair tie from your ponytail and shaking out your hair. “C’mon. We should get out of here.”

“I’m not going  _anywhere_ with you people!” Sammy plops down on the dock like a kid throwing a tantrum.

“We can always throw you in the water.” You shrug.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“We could also have you arrested for aiding in the trafficking of minors." Matt points out.

"Ugh! Fine!" She grumbles, standing up and following you two back to Matt's apartment.

 

Jessica and Luke are waiting for you when you arrive back at Matt’s place. Matt tells Sammy to go and rinse off in the shower while we discuss some things out here. She rolls her eyes, but obliges, noticing the tension in the room.

“Matthew. Y/N.” Jessica nods to you each respectively. There’s something… different about her. Maybe she forgot to put on her distinct perfume. Only the faintest hint of Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue permeates the room.

“I’ve got a bone to pick with you.” You advance on Luke, an accusatory finger raised in his direction.

“ _That_ ,” Jessica stops you with her sharp tone. “Is what we are here to discuss.”

“What is there to discuss? Luke wasn’t where he was supposed to be, and a child I promised to protect got kidnapped.”

“Has the boy been retrieved?”

“Yeah, along with 8 other kids. You’re welcome.”

“Then the matter is closed.”

“Oh, no it’s not.” You turn on her, stepping so you are nose to nose. Though, now you realize, in your boots at least, you are quite a bit taller than Jessica. “You’re the one who called him away.” Then you smell something on her that’s different. Like when Stick smelled Matt all over you this morning. "Oh my god."

"What?" She asks, stepping away from you.

"It was a booty call." You whisper harshly.

"What are you talking about?" Her tone suggests that she doesn't like the accusation, but her heart tells you that you're right.

"You called Luke away from his beat, resulting in the kidnapping of a child, the murder of his caretaker, and the endangerment of Hell's Kitchen, just so you could get some." You laugh, disbelief rich in your voice. "I can't believe you, Jessica. You, of all people."

"How do you know that?"

"I can smell him all over you."

"Well, where were you last night? Shouldn't you have been out?"

"Don't you dare put this on me, Jessica Jones. I _refuse_ to take the blame for your lack of self-control."

"Maybe if you hadn't been at Josie's getting drunk, Antonia would still be alive and Burhan wouldn't have been kidnapped!"

"Sammy!" You call. She pokes her head out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her chest and another in her hair. "Get dressed. We're leaving."

"Okay." She shrugs, ducking back into the bathroom.

"If you leave this apartment you can kiss your place in the Defenders goodbye." Jessica growls.

"Jessica, no." Luke says, shocked at the sudden turn of events.

"As if I actually wanted to be here." You hiss. "A bunch of mopey ass vigilantes with nothing better to do." Samantha got ready more quickly than you had expected. Both of you were upstairs and on the roof before Jessica could even think about what she said.

"Y/N. Wait." Matt follows you up to the roof.

"I'm tired of having people treat me like a kid, Matt. I've dealt with pity and condescending tones all my life and I'm done. If she wants to blame me for Burhan getting kidnapped and getting Antonia killed, fine. I'm not going to take it."

"Stay, please." He is actually begging you. You aren't sure if you should be shocked or flattered.

"Why? Are you going to tell me she didn't mean it? Are you going to tell me I'm necessary to the team? Because, she did mean it, Matt. And I'm not necessary." You turn and climb up onto the ledge, getting ready to leap to the next apartment building. He takes your hand and you can almost hear his heart breaking. "I'm done." You rip your hand away and leap across the alley, joining Sammy on the other side.

"Harsh." She says, shaking her head slightly.

"I had to say it." You don't turn back and look at Matt like you desperately want to. You turn away and run.

 


End file.
